Who Discovered Celiac Disease

This is the answer given at Askville by Amazon

Some 8,000 years after its onset, celiac disease was identified and named. A clever Greek physician named Aretaeus of Cappadocia, living in the first century AD, wrote about “The Coeliac Affection.” In fact, he named it “koiliakos” (celiac disease) after the Greek word “koelia” (abdomen). His description: “If the stomach be irretentive of the food and if it pass through undigested and crude, and nothing ascends into the body, we call such persons coeliacs”.  (If you have this allergy here’s where you can  find gluten free food )

Another 17 centuries went by, and in the early 19th century a Dr. Mathew Baillie, probably unaware of Aretaeus, published his observations on a chronic diarrheal disorder of adults causing malnutrition and characterized by a gas-distended abdomen. He even went on to suggest dietetic treatment, writing: “ Some patients have appeared to derive considerable advantage from living almost entirely upon rice.” (to avoid wheat gluten) Baillie’s observations, however, went practically unnoticed, and it was for the English doctor Samuel Gee, a leading authority in pediatric diseases, to take full credit for the modern description of celiac disease some 75 years later, when he gave a lecture to medical students on the “celiac affection,” the milestone description of this disorder in modern times.

Like Baillie, Gee sensed that “if the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet.”
As the decades passed, there was still no clue as to what could be causing celiac disease and no hint (in spite of autopsies frequently performed given the high mortality rate) of the damage to the intestinal mucosa. Yet some of the present-day findings, which we tend to consider as recent advances, were indeed well known long ago, including that celiac disease could be present without diarrhea, the protective role of breast-feeding in the development and severity of celiac disease, only recently documented, and the increased incidence in families, particularly twins.
In the 1920s a new dietetic treatment erupted on the scene and for decades established itself as the cornerstone of therapy: the banana diet.

Several case studies have linked food intolerance and migraine; this article is one in a series which takes a closer look at some of the foods less commonly suspected when a food sensitivity is thought to be at the root of a migraine problem.

Most people think first of red wine, chocolate and cheese as the most common foods that will cause a migraine. As long ago as 1979 the prestigious Lancet journal published research on migraine and food intolerances, finding wheat to be the most common trigger of migraine(1).

In fact wheat has recently been linked to a flurry of other health problems ranging from fatigue to bloating.

Wheat is a major allergen, with approximately 78% of migraine sufferers being linked to food intolerance, with wheat being identified as the main trigger(1). This may be unrecognized for a long time, because wheat is so prevalent in foods, that cutting it out completely is extremely difficult and involves detailed scrutiny of labels for unsuspected sources. Consult your health professional for detailed advice, failure to do so may otherwise expose yourself to considerable suffering, by unwittingly still consuming wheat-containing food or drinks.

Some maintain that claiming allergy to wheat is an affectation, citing the desire to follow celebrities such as Rachel Weisz who has been public about her wheat intolerance. Many others, however, simply point to the incredible obstacles that face those who would cut wheat and gluten out of their diet, and ask what person would struggle to surmount them if there was no real benefit.

Many migraine sufferers are thought to be suffer from celiac disease, a severe wheat and gluten intolerance that causes serious gastrointestinal problems and fatigue. One of the most frustrating aspects to migraines is the inability to stop them once they gain control, so any form of prevention is always welcome.

In a study done at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome, Italy, researchers discovered a marked improvement in migraines among celiac patients when placed on a gluten free diet, leading some to speculate that a large percentage of migraine patients do in fact have celiac disease(2).

Other links between wheat intolerance and migraines have been studied, and in at least one case, nine out of ten patients experienced relief from headaches; whilst the tenth refused to eliminate gluten from their diet(3).

Some sufferers opt to become vegan in order to improve their diet and remove the foods to which they have a sensitivity. While a significant number of them cease having headaches shortly after beginning a vegan lifestyle, others have a sharp increase in the number and severity of headaches.

The Coeliac society has several forums and many reports of first hand experiences of vegans who discovered they had celiac disease causing various health problems, as many vegans depend on wheat/soy products to replace the protein they would normally gain from meat and dairy. For some people who were consuming a large amount of wheat, to replace proteins and carbohydrates they were missing out on by avoiding dairy and meat, had in fact triggered gluten intolerance. With the the large amounts of gluten eliminated from the diet, the migraines ceased(4).

Based on this information, it appears more than likely that wheat and gluten are responsible for triggering a migraine, subsequently, a trial abstinence period would be an effective way to prove this. (5).

Sources:
(1) Grant ECG, Food, Allergies and Migraine, Lancet, May 5 1979;966-969
(2) Am J Gastroenterol. 2003 Jul;98(7):1674; March edition of American Journal of Gastroenterology.
(3) American Academy of Neurology (2001, February 14); Gluten In The Diet May Be The Cause Of Recurring Headaches; Science Daily.
(4) The Celiac Society, The Gluten-free Vegan
(5) Celiac Disease, A Hidden Epidemic, Peter Green, MD.

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What is Gluten Allergy? In wheat, barley, rye, and low level oats, there is a rubbery like protein called gluten. This material is what helps the dough connect, as you may observe with baked breads and other baked foods.

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I was wondering if anyone has experience using powdered wheat gluten to strengthen flour/dough as opposed to using high-gluten flour. It seems attractive not to have to stock two kinds of flour (AP + bread), but does it work as well?

Research by Grace-Alexander

By: Joy Healey

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Joy Healey qualified in 2000 as a nutritionist at the acknowledged Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London; with her dissertation topic being migraine. Check out://www.natural-migraine-alternatives.com for immediate receipt of an e.book full of further recommendations for natural, alternatives and approaches to treat and prevent migraine. Keep up-to-date with new information on migraine at: natural-migraine-alternatives.blogspot.com

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